Flower Palace, Tainted Gardens
by LLL3
Summary: Who has it harder? Grimmjow the proud, fearless figure head crown prince? Or Ichigo, who escapes death's hands by pretending to be an eunuch? And where does Aizen come in here? YAOI, AU, OOCness


**A/N: Hi, this is my first fanfiction on this site (hope to be the first out of many)! Pairings will not be revealed as of yet, but please be warned that most, if not all, all yaoi. The rating is subject to change later on since I will most likely be introducing a lot of smut. So, if you like that kind of stuff, stay tuned! On another note, this is an AU. The setting borrows ideas from history, but don't expect it to adhere to anything in particular. **

**Just saying now, be warned for OOCness xp But never less, I hope you enjoy this chappie! Review if you like, review if you don't like. If you're part of the latter, spare some of your harsher words for my tender feelings~ :D ENJOYYYY **

**Chapter 1**

"To maintain our good relationship with the royal family, _we must do this._" Shinji said. "With this headdress, no one will recognize who you are!"

Ichigo scowled at the tall blonde standing in front of him. The velvety cloth in his hands did nothing to help convey his point. "I'm not going to do this, Shinji." Ichigo said flatly.

Shinji made a tsking sound and wagged his index finger at Ichigo. "We would be very proud of you."

"Proud of what?" Ichigo exclaimed. "Proud of me dressing up as a woman to marry the fucking prince? Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Think about it – being in laws to the future king!" Shinji said without listening. "And I've told you a million times. The prince is not interested in sex or any of the other marital stuff. He's married to about fifty women, but he's only seen two of them. Nobody will ever find out that you're a man."

"That's only part of this multi dimension problem." Ichigo rolled his eyes.

Shinji smiled exasperatedly. "Look. All you have to do is sit in the carriage until you get there. Then you have to sign a document. And then you can carry your lazy ass back here and pretend nothing ever happened. Trust me Kurosaki, this is a good plan."

"No, it is not."

"The ladies tell me he's good looking."

"Okay, what? No, just no."

"It's for the sake of our clan!"

"It is not!" Ichigo screamed. "This is because you want to go to the reagent king's celebration and you're too fucking cheap to buy a goddamn gift and so you're marrying me off instead!"

"It's a flawless plan." Shinji said.

"If this it's so flawless, then why don't _you_ marry him?"

"I … I … You know what. Just forget about it." Shinji said. He went to the counter and filled two small cups with sake. "Let's just have a drink and forget about all this crap."

Ichigo took one of the cups from him. He took a sip and tried to clear his mind. "Don't try to guilt trip me now. I'm still not marrying the fucking prince."

"Sure, whatever you say."

The sake had a strong aroma. It burned down his throat like a pitcher of fire. The orange head held the cup in front of him for inspection. "This is good sake, where did you – ? _SHINJI, what did you put into it?_"

The orange head started coughing uncontrollably.

"Oh nothing." Shinji said. He tried to look the other way to avoid Ichigo's glare. "Just some… intoxicants."

The orange head felt a strange dizziness occupy his mind. His hand began to shake as he realized what was happening. The mug dropped onto the ground with a clatter. Ichigo turned his furious eyes towards Shinji. His finger was shaking at the tall blonde, knowing that he had been drugged.

"You – You – !"

"Sorry Ichigo." Shinji said. "I couldn't think of any other way."

"I'm not marrying the fucking prince!" Ichigo said again. He could feel his balance shift around and a strange force pulling his legs towards the ground. "I'm not marrying the fucking prince. I'm not marrying the fucking prince. I'M NOT FUCKING THE MARRIED PRINCE."

"No Ichigo, you do not have to do that."

"Fuck! What did I just say?"

"Nothing. Nothing." Shinji said. "Just be quiet. This will be over soon."

"F – Fuck … _you._" Ichigo stuttered before falling onto the ground, losing all traces of consciousness.

"What … the fuck is going on?"

Ichigo looked around. He got onto his feet and started walking around. He was in a grand room with a very high ceiling and tall pillars supporting it. The orange head groaned. _Damn. I'm at the imperial palace, aren't I? Great, now what. Are people supposed to come and get me later?_ He had forgotten Shinji's warning that regular men were not allowed on the premise of the concubine's rooms.

_Some marriage this is._

Ichigo yawned and paced the room. When were they coming? It had been exactly 1.5 seconds since he was here and he was already bored out of his mind. One more minute of this and he would be trying to make fire with his hands to burn the place down.

"A man!"

The orange head looked towards the sound of the voice. A girl dressed in black had entered the room with a plate full of food. Ichigo looked at the food and then back towards the girl who was carrying the plate. She was pretty short.

"What, you had never seen a man before?" Ichigo scowled.

The girl quickly closed the doors behind her and shushed Ichigo into a corner. Her gaze struck a memorable image in Ichigo's mind. Her brown eyes widened as she exclaimed, "You're Third Mistress's man, aren't you?"

"W – _What?_" Ichigo stammered. "Noooo, I am not."

"Do not worry." The girl said. "My name is Rukia. I already know about your secret. It's safe with me."

"There's no secret!" Ichigo demanded. "I don't even know this third mistress of yours!"

Rukia made a shushing sound. "Fool. Don't be so loud. This is forbidden territory. No men are allowed here except members of the royal family and eunuchs."

"_Eunuchs?_"

Ichigo felt a stab at his groin as the word passed through his mind.

Rukia crossed his arm. "It's the mistress's quarters, after all."

Ichigo groaned. He hit himself on the head. "How could I have forgotten about this?"

"You can pretend to be the new eunuch for third mistress. The prince has not seen enough of her to remember who she is." Rukia suggested. "But a new concubine is coming today from the Vizards. You can't let her see you."

Ichigo gulped. _He _was from the Vizards. But of course, no way in hell was he going to tell the girl standing before him that he had been tricked into pretending to be a woman to marry a prince in order to retain the good relationships with the Vizard minority and the royal family.

"I … wonder what she's like." Ichigo said blatantly.

"No time for that," Rukia ushered Ichigo into a dressing room. She picked a few garments from the closet and threw it at him.

Ichigo threw them around in his hands. "Wait. These are … a eunuch's clothes."

"Of course." Rukia said. "We can't exactly have you dress like the prince, now can we? Quickly dress, before she comes!"

Ichigo swallowed his distaste as he put on the new clothes. Sometime somewhere, a eunuch had worn these clothes. The pants tightened around his groin. _How fucking convenient._ He swallowed the discomfort.

"This is too small!"

"Think of something! Make it fit!" Rukia cried. "Wait, be quiet, I hear footsteps!"

Ichigo paused. In the faint distance, someone had announced: "All hail the crown prince!"

Ichigo shot an exasperate look towards Rukia. "Crown prince? Why … Why … is he here?"

"He must be here to see his consort." Rukia said. "Oh no, this is bad. This is bad. Quick, let's solute him!"

"What? I thought he didn't like his wives! Ow, ow, stop grabbing me, I'm coming!"

Rukia pulled Ichigo into the main room and pushed him to one side of the door. Ichigo caught the sight of two approaching figures at the side of his eyes.

"Long live the prince."Rukia said, lowering her head towards the ground.

Ichigo quickly repeated after her. "Long … live the prince."

The orange head glanced upwards at the prince. The prince was dressed in fine clothes. His broad shoulders and the finesse of his upper body were highlighted by a light plate of interwoven armor. A cape treaded behind him, emphasizing his regality. Only his sideways scowl betrayed his true person. The prince was bored with everything around him.

Ichigo quickly looked away when the prince swept his cold eyes over him. They were blue and infinite like the ocean.

"Where the hell is she?" The prince asked. His voice flowed smoothly. He was the man who feared nothing.

"Your highness," Rukia said. "Who are you asking for?"

"The new concubine." The prince said. "Who else would I be looking for?"

"Oh…" Rukia said. "She … hasn't arrived yet."

The prince scowled and kicked something. He caught Ichigo's fidgeting figure beside him. "Who the hell is he? And what's wrong with him?"

"He's … the new eunuch." Rukia said quickly. "He might have been dropped on the head a few times when he was younger."

"Is he functional?"

Ichigo shifted around uncomfortably. The tight pants were irritating his lower extremity in what he embarrassingly identified as an _arousing _manner. _Stay low STAY LOW. _He thought frantically. If he was going to have a boner now, he would have had to say good bye to his life.

"I ... guess."

The prince suddenly looked towards Ichigo. "Alright, come with me."

"Wait!" Rukia suddenly cried. She reached out her arms to grab Ichigo's arm. The orange head suppressed a scream as her fingers dug the clothes into his skin. "He … He can't go!"

"What did you just say?" The prince asked in an annoyed fashion. "Why can't he go?"

Rukia quickly realized the consequences of her outburst when the prince's expression fell into a downward smirk. "My apologies your highness. What I had meant to say instead was that he usually works in the servant's quarters."

The prince rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just get out of here."

With a sweep of his robes, he left the room. Ichigo shot a desperate look at Rukia before following the prince.

_Fuck fuck fuck, this is bad!_ Ichigo thought desperately as he followed the blue haired prince around the castle courtyard.

"What is taking you so long?" The prince demanded. "Hurry up."

Ichigo scowled quietly and said to himself. "You should be more considerate towards your subordinates."

The prince, who heard what he said, quickly turned around. "You're pretty brave for someone who literally has no balls. Aren't you afriad that I'd have your head?"

"Heheh." Ichigo laughed humorlessly. "My head is screwed on pretty tight..."

"Hmph."

The two arrived by a small bridge etched over a lake with light green waters and thick lily pads. It was an artificial pond that probably took a lot of work to dig up for some unfortunate laborer. The prince grabbed the cleverly carved rails with his two hands and sighed deeply. "I don't even know where all these marriages are popping up from."

Ichigo followed closely behind him. "Some greedy bloke, I'm guessing, marrying their friends for more power?"

The blue haired man grunted. "Yeah probably. Do you believe in fate?"

He gazed into the green rivers. A red koi was eating a dead black koi. Unfazed, the prince continued to stare, the casual smirk glued onto his face.

The orange head was taken aback by what the prince had said. "…Sure. I guess."

"The priestess told me that I would meet someone today who would change my life by the artificial rocks. I went to the Vizard girl's room to prove her wrong."

Ichigo blinked in surprise. It took him a moment to realize what he had said. "W – Wha …? You think that girl from the Vizard is going to be … your…? Have you ever been to their estate? I mean, it's filthy! The people there aren't even that great – !"

"What's wrong with you?"

Ichigo tried to compose himself. "N – Nothing."

The prince took one step closer to Ichigo. He lifted his head an inch into the air, revealing the casual smirk that he was so good at holding and the air of infinite boredom which bit into his expression. "You're hiding something aren't you?"

Ichigo took a step back. "No, I'm not!"

"Tell me or I'll have your head."

"Oh, come on, don't you think that threat is a little over done?"

Ichigo took another step back. A little trinket fell from his belt. It dropped onto the ground with a little chime. Both men turned to look at it.

"Pick that up." The prince said.

Ichigo hesitated. He wasn't exactly enthusiastic about stretching at the moment. "I'm kind of tired at the moment. Can't we just let a servant pick that up?"

"You are the servant here." The prince reminded him coldly.

"Oh, er, right."

Ichigo took a deep breath and reached towards the ground. A terrible pain dug into his groin. Ichigo clenched his teeth to stop himself from screaming. _Fucking … tight, stupid eunuch robes. I… ARGHHH! _

The prince rolled his eyes and turned around.

Ichigo's hands instinctively pried at his belt. He was fighting against everything he had ever learned to let his little lieutenant take a whiff at the open air. It is easy to say that his victory was not exactly one of his proudest.

The prince heard an agonized scream and turned around. Just in time to be flashed.

"W – What … _the fuck?_"

Ichigo gulped. He quickly pulled up his pants and wrapped the belt loosely around it. _Maybe it's time I go anyways. _The orange head saw a maze of artificial rocks and dashed towards there.

"You are not a eunuch." The prince said out loud. "Stay where you are!"

A moment later, the prince was chasing after the orange head. He ran into the artificial rocks and followed its many twists and turns. The prince crossed a corner to see the side of Ichigo's face. For a brief second, their eyes met. Grimmjow paused. It was like he had seen him for the first time as who he was... in the artificial rocks. The prince reached out an arm. In the next second, Ichigo disappeared.

"No … it can't be!" The prince cried and started chasing again.

"Grimmjow, where do you think you're going?"

A scabbard blocked his way. Grimmjow, the prince, kicked it into the air. The owner caught it once again and pressed it onto Grimmjow's leg. He did not look too impressed.

"_Aizen._" Grimmjow hissed. "Get out of my way."

**So how is it? Up for more? **


End file.
